Vinton residents have filed a lawsuit asking a district court judge to remove three City Council members from office. KFOX14 broke the news Tuesday, and has since uncovered the dozens of state and federal laws the leaders are accused of violating.

Residents Robert E. Williams and J. Brandy Gardes filed the petition for removal with the 346th District Court on Tuesday against council members Juvencia Rios-Ontiveros, Martha Garcia and Maria Medina.

A petition for removal is the only way a type A municipality like Vinton can recall local leaders.

The petition states three council members have demonstrated incompetency, including gross ignorance of official duties and gross carelessness of those duties, and official misconduct.


The petitioners ask the court to remove the three from office, stating that if they are not removed they will, among other things, "continue to cause damage to the Village of Vinton, and its citizens, ultimately ending in the extinction of the Village."

The lawsuit alleges a pattern of violations and a history of putting the village and the welfare of its residents in jeopardy. It also reveals the millions of dollars the village has lost as direct results of the three council member's actions.

Among the list of damages listed include the three council member's "causing the village to plunge deeply into an avoidable total debt in the amount of approximately ($650,000) and "causing an unnecessary increase in the tax rate for the citizens of the village."

The petition also identifies the budget, proposed by Ontiveros that would have "dissolved the local police department" and compromised the safety of residents. The petition also cites the decreased and insufficient fire protection. As KFOX14 has reported, the water problems in Vinton have rendered many fire hydrants, inoperable. The fire department has painted those hydrants black, meaning in the event of a fire, they cannot connect to them. The three council members voted against a project that would have helped restore water and the proper water pressure to those hydrants.

As KFOX14 has reported, the three members stand accused of blocking the village's efforts to pass a budget and a tax rate by the deadline, despite 16 meetings with both items on the agenda.

The failure to pass a budget puts the village in violation of Texas Local Government Code Section 102.002.

By failing to adopt a tax rate, the three have placed the Village of Vinton in violation of the Texas Tax Code Section 26.05.

Ontiveros, proposed a tax rate after the public hearings had closed, another violation of the law.

The village has no budget, no tax rate and no method to assess and collect property tax.

Which means the village has lost 50 percent of its general revenue funds.

The petitioners wrote that the council members' actions "have crippled the ability of the Village of Vinton to operate for the benefit of its citizens and may well cause the Village of Vinton to be dismantled in its entirety."

As KFOX14 has reported, without a budget, the village has been forced to lay off employees and cut back on its services and operating hours.

"As a result, the village's ability to comply with Texas Civil Practice and Remedies Code Section 101.0215 has been severely compromised," the petition states.

It is projected that without a budget, the village can only operate until April 2013.

The lawsuit also asserts the three have breached their fiduciary duties as elected officials.

The most prominent example being, their continued efforts to stop the village from achieving a water and sewer system.

The petitioners cite the law pertaining to breach of fiduciary duties which reads in part, "Every elected official is charged with a fiduciary duty to hold the best interest of the municipal entity and its citizens in the highest accord, including the health and safety of their citizens." 

In 2009 the Village of Vinton sough grants to implement water and waste water system. The village is largely operated by private wells and water companies.
As previously reported by KFOX14, and supported by state water testing, and Village of Vinton records, one private system has unacceptable and unhealthy levels of arsenic. In addition, the private wells are drying up and failing septic tanks are contaminating the water table in the village.

Most residents in Vinton, not connected to the three streets running on city water, must rely on bottled water.
Ontiveros, lives on one of the streets that does have city water.

In 2009 and 2010 Vinton applied for grants to fund a water and sewer project. The village was awarded the grants and moved forward with an engineering design. The design to be repaid, with the grant money.

As KFOX14 has reported, the three council member's refusal to accept the millions in grant money has not only prevented the village from achieving a water and sewer system but it has put the village in a debt, $548,000 to the engineering firm, Parkhill, Smith and Cooper.
To repay the debt, the village will have to raise the tax rate.

The lawsuit also names each member on two separate counts of violating Title 15 of the state Election Code by not turning in campaign finance reports or reporting political contributions while in office. Elected officials are required to submit any and all political contributions, expenditures or assets twice a year.

According to records, Ontiveros, Medina and Garcia have never filed.

In doing so, the petitioners state that the three "have deprived the public of its right to know the source of campaign funding and/or in-kind donations and to determine any conflicts of interest arising from including, but not limited to, with private water companies and others who may have an interest in her votes."

The document also cites dozens of violations of the Texas Open Meetings Act. Violations can include, "routinely acting in concert by pre-arrangement."
The petition details the three council members have the exact same attendance records on 16 dates when they did not attend or staged a walkout.

According to the petition, from taking office in June 2011 to August 2012, the three council members have a 44 percent absentee rate by either not attending or walking out of meetings.

Also named in suit is the failure to award approved contracts.

In 2010, the village approved a contract to rehabilitate municipal parks through award of grants by various state and other entities.

On May 1, Village Council was presented with the recommendation to award the contract to the construction company Medlock Commercial Contractors, LLC. The three voted no. After, the village attorney informed the council members that failing to award the contract on a previously approved contract would result in the repayment of the funds and their withholding of the award was likely in violation of the law Ontiveros and Medina voted No, Garcia did not register a vote.

On Nov. 1, 2011 a water project referred to as the "Quejette Water Project," was approved by the village of Vinton Council. The project was to improve services to three streets in Vinton and provide enhanced fire protection. The village received a grant for the engineering services.

After three months of preventing the council from voting on the item, the three ultimately prevented the awarding of a contract to an engineering firm for the project, meaning nearly $300,000 in grants for the project, would be returned to the state. The village attorney informed the three council members that failing to award the contract was in violation of the law and rejection of bids could open the village up to a lawsuit. According to records, Ontiveros and Medina still voted no, Garcia did not register a vote.

A third contract was for "ongoing park rehabilitation project" that was funded, primarily, by El Paso County. According to records, the Village of Vinton was responsible to ensure that parking lot, sidewalks and entrances to the park were compliant with federal American with Disabilities Act. According to Village record, Vinton was offered the opportunity to have the paving done as an "add-on" with the company "Allied Paving," which was contracted by El Paso County.

On April 3 an agenda item before the council was to confirm the contract with Allied Paving, "Which would reduce the costs to the Village of Vinton by approximately $150,000. Council was informed this was ADA mandated and required under the terms of the grant from the county," as stated in the petition.

Failing to comply with the stipulations from the county would make the village obligated to return between $342,000 and $362,000 in grant funding. According to records, Ontiveros, Medina voted no, Garcia remained silent. "The park remains non-ADA compliant," the petition states.

Among some of the other violations include violations of the Public Information Act, Misrepresentation and Misleading statements, causing the village to be out of compliance with Chapter 203 of the Texas Local Government Code, causing the village to be out of compliance with the Government Accounting Standards Board.

KFOX14 has learned the 346th district court judge, Angie Barill, has not had an opportunity to review the documents, as she has been hearing a case since Monday.